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I was so pleased to have the opportunity to join the 4th grade class on their field trip to Prince William Forest Park last Friday. What a wonderful trip! The park, which is administered by the National Park Service, is a beautiful gem, almost right in our backyard, and we were fortunate to make our school’s first-ever visit on a gorgeous fall day.

The purpose of our trip was to learn map and compass skills. We spent our first hour under the guidance of Ranger Cindy and Ranger Adam, who gave our students a primer in topographic map reading and orienteering. We also measured our pace. Each student was given a map, and once we knew where we were, we learned to take a bearing so we could strike out — bodies carefully oriented and compasses in hand — and guide ourselves to the next in a predetermined series of waypoints. These waypoints were simple wooden markers with orange blazes on top, implanted in the ground in the middle of the woods. In the midst of the fall colors, they were not easy to spot! Our students learned the importance of precision and patience when it comes to orienteering.

Our rangers stuck with us as we made our way to the first two waypoints. From that point on we were on our own as we completed a 1.25-miles course over land and through the woods, in the search for four additional markers. It is safe to say that while we were never lost, we did not always know exactly where we were in relation to those waypoints! But the event took on the air of a scavenger hunt, with much teamwork required, and in the end, we were successful in our quest to find all six points and then make our way back to our base and a very welcome picnic lunch. We shared stories of the event until the children’s conversation morphed into a lively session of riddles posed and riddles answered. All too soon it was time to head home, but we returned to Potomac Crescent happy and invigorated, having spent a lovely Friday tramping through the words.
Our technical words of the day: azimuth – your direction of travel; and declination – the angle, measured in degrees between the direction of your compass needle (which points to magnetic north) and the direction of true north (which is the direction to which your map is oriented.) In VIrginia, the declination is approximately 10 degrees, and we had to account for this difference each time we set out in search of a new waypoint!

Thanks to Ms. Mansuri and her eager students for inviting me to attend this trip. As board chair, it is easy to become isolated from the true work of our school. This trip provided me a welcome opportunity to re-connect!

We arrived at the Seneca School House in Poolesville, Maryland on a beautiful fall morning in October. As we walked down the path in our 1880′s garb we were greeted by the Washington Waldorf 4th graders. Ms. Darby, our teacher for the day soon rang the school bell and explained to the children they needed to line up in 2 lines, shortest to tallest, girls on one side and boys on the other. Upon walking into the beautifully preserved building we truly felt as though we were stepping back in time. Once we were all seated at our desks Ms. Darby gave a brief history of the school and began to light the potbelly stove that was built into the middle of the room. Ms. Darby then asked each child to stand and talk a little about the 19th century character they were portraying for the day. Throughout the day the children completely became their character! The lesson for the day included, reading out loud, arithmetic and ended with a spelling bee! The children enjoyed playing in the forest during recess and competing in the relay races. it was truly such a rich experience for us all
Carrie Beresford

To wonder at beauty
To stand guard over truth
To look up to the noble
To resolve on the good:

This leads the human being to purpose in living
To right in his doing
To peace in his feeling
To light in his thinking

And teaches him trust in the working of God
In all that there is
In the widths of the world
In the depths of the soul…

It has for many years been the dream and intention of the Potomac Crescent Waldorf School to grow from Parent Child to grade 5. I am happy to say that the class of children that I am privileged to shepherd will next year be the first class to be a 5th grade at PCWS. We are all very happy.

As the fourth grade teacher, I have been teaching Local History and Geography to my fourth graders since school began two weeks ago. When teaching history and geography, we start right where the fourth grader stands in the world and move out from there. They write about their own “high story,” draw a map of their bedroom, then move to a map of the classroom and school, while learning about the history of their school. Next we will explore the route from home to school, then the surrounding area, and finally the region and state.

As a part of this learning, I asked one of our founding teachers, Mrs. Kathy Faltin, to come and share the history of our school with the Fourth Graders. They listened intently as Mrs. Faltin told them that it all started in 1997 when a group of, as my students later put it in their collaborative composition, “ . . . warm hearted people interested in Waldorf education . . .” gathered together to start a Waldorf School in Northern Virginia. The school went through many struggles, such as finding a location. But the school was undaunted and found a home here in MVBC, where it has been for 14 years.

As PCWS fulfills its dream of growing to grade 5, we have outgrown this location. We will be moving again soon, and you will hear more about that later today. As the school has grown, so has our community. It is with the support of our parent, grandparent, and greater community that we have grown to where we are today. So I would like to focus on you, our community for a moment.

There are also many ways to learn about Waldorf Education here at PCWS. There will be all school events throughout the year, seasonal Festivals, such as Lantern Walks, the Fall Festival, Alumni bonfires, Grandparents day, and more. And for the real nitty gritty about Waldorf Education, come to the Parent Education Evenings. The first one is on October 2 and will include a panel of our own teachers talking about the grades in Waldorf Education in general, and specifically at PCWS.

If you ever have a question, your first link of communication is your child’s teacher and your parent handbook. Beyond that, your child’s teacher can direct you where to go.

In closing, I want to share with you the responses my students gave when we reviewed Mrs. Faltin’s history of the Potomac Crescent Waldorf School.

I asked them, “How did you feel when Mrs. Faltin was talking about the history of our school?”

One student immediately said, “I felt like she was talking about a baby and the baby was crying, because it wanted to be fed, fed more grades.”

Another said, “I felt like what they started was special and that I want to continue it.”

The others all agreed that , “Yes, I felt it was special, too.”

Then one asked, “What did you feel Ms. Mansuri?”

I had to think for a moment. I finally said, “What I was struck by was the strength and will it took for those founders to create a school. That takes a lot of desire of will and determination. And here it is today. That school, we are sitting in one of its classrooms teaching, learning, and growing. We are continuing that dream and making it real.”

As the school year comes to a close, it seems that in the grades things speed up. In this last week of school the third grade had a field trip with the third grade from the Washington Waldorf School to Carderock State Park, spent a day building a bench to add to our playground seating, participated in field day, enjoyed the all school picnic, and finally the last day of school. All the while, of course, we were also busily finishing up our Main Lesson Book work, cleaning our classroom, and packing our supplies to move into a new room for fourth grade next year.

While all of these activities were exciting, I particularly want to share with you the day we made the bench. Part of the
third grade curriculum is leaning about construction. With this knowledge, the third grade then undertakes a building project. It must be something that they can complete, will give them the feeling of exhilaration that comes with wielding a hammer, and the sense of satisfaction that comes with creating something that is practical and will be useful to the school community. I decided that we would construct a new bench, as one of the benches on the playground was in need of retirement. Plans were found and a carpenter (Jim Martin, Jenna Martin’s husband) to lead the project, but the trouble was procuring wood. At the end of the school year, funds were tight. Wendy Cardany (our Bluebird Teacher) donated some lovely pieces of cedar, but not enough for a complete bench. What were we to do? It was then that I contacted the Community Forklift, a discount, recycled building materials warehouse (www.CommunityForklift.com). They gave us a donation of $100 worth of building materials.

Mr. Martin, the third graders, and I set to work on Tuesday morning. We had a great time building our new bench for the playground today. Mr. Martin guided and assisted the children through the process. He was a wonderful teacher who helped them to do as much of the work as was possible. They measured, hammered nails, wrenched bolts, and sanded with sanding blocks and even an electric palm sander. We had some extra wood so Mr. Martin designed a rustic balance beam so that nothing went to waste. The weather cooperated for the most part and we only had to move inside for the last stretch. Before it was time to break for lunch the bench was complete!

The bench is now on the playground and is large enough to hold six people! It is a great improvement over the previous bench that was falling apart and only held three.

Thank you to Mr. Martin, Mrs. Cardany, and Community Forklift for making this project a great success!

Have a wonderful summer and when school resumes in the fall, come to the playground and sit on our new bench! ~ Ms. Mansuri

A few thoughts below about the Fathering Today seminar I attended at WWS two weekends ago which was hosted by Jack Petrash and Kim John Payne.

About 40 fathers attended. I would not have minded having a few moms present (or at least my own wife Elena) because I think much of what we discussed was applicable to parenting in general and also because I think it would have been really interesting for the moms to hear some of the perspectives that were dad-specific. But that is beside the point. As with so many things that you do intensively, it was just so refreshing to have a day to step outside of yourself to reflect on why and how you are doing that thing (in this case, being a father) in the first place.

There was so much that we discussed that I found to be compelling. Among other topics, these included the following:

- that our children really notice when their fathers are feeling carefree (i.e. not burdened with thoughts of work or stresses outside the family)
- that our goal as fathers is to create a memorable and meaningful relationship with our children but that we should not expect to be perfect in doing so
- that we should seek out the things we do in our lives in which our children can accompany us… that they will remember the things they get to do with their dads that they don’t do with their moms… also, that the things we do in our lives rhythmically or ritually (i.e. a weekly meal or an annual summer trip) are things that will live on in the memories of our children… but also that we should not forget the importance of surprise in doing things with our children because those also will live on in their memories

At one point, Jack Petrash went around the room asking the fathers present to share one of their most treasured memories of their own fathers or some other meaningful male figure in their lives. 75% of those who responded started off with a phrase like, “When I was about 10 years old, my dad…” This really struck me, because the oldest of my two boys is about to turn 9 years old. It would seem to me that I am entering a period of his life when our experiences together will leave the greatest mark.

Kim John Payne spoke a lot about the subject of discipline, which I wasn’t actually expecting, but which really resonated with me as I considered my relationship with my two boys. He described discipline as a process through which we help define our family… that you go into parenting knowing what you DON’T want your family to be like and through discipline, you sort of shave those parts away. He said that when you back off of discipline, you risk leaving your family feeling unformed, and that a child who acts disobedient may in fact be disoriented due to lack of boundaries. Then he talked about specific kinds of words and approaches you can use with your children. He really emphasized leadership, saying that it is exhausting to constantly chase after children, their behaviors, etc. rather than saying to them follow along. He also introduced us to his model of the role you play as a leader through three phases of your children’s lives: being a “governor” (ages 0-7), being a “gardener” (tween years), and being a “guide” (teen years).

In addition to discipline, Kim John Payne also spent some time talking about the high levels of stress placed on children in our modern life. He went so far as to say that the amount of stress hormones in today’s children is unknown in human history. He believes that all of this stress turns natural character traits into compulsions. He feels that as parents we must act as sentinels, dialing kids back from all of this stress – he said that that’s when their natural gifts will shine.

I could write much more about this. Suffice it to say that I am very glad I attended, and if a similar seminar is held again in the future, I would highly recommend it to other PCWS dads.

It was beautiful spending the morning with the 3rd graders. When we first arrived at the shelter building site, The chipmunk tribe (Fiona, Krista and Jasper) realized their structure had been compromised by someone or something. They were devastated. There were even tears. This picture shows Ms. Mansuri helping to build back their morale. She told them to use their sadness and anger to rebuild. They did it! The eagle tribe offered many words of encouragement and congratulated them at the end. They all worked together so

beautifully!! It was such a pleasure watching them learn these valuable life lessons.

~ Carrie Beresford

The Eagle Tribe:

“Native Americans made shelters so they were safe from storms and danger. It was hard for the Eagles (my tribe), but it was awesome.” ~ Camila

“I built a shelter with Noah, Camila, and of course, me. We made the skeleton of the shelter. Then we put on the vines and leaves and other stuff. Then we made a kitchen with berries and stuff. It is fun!” ~ Tess

“My shelter is very nice and very dark. My shelter looks like a tipi.” ~ Noah

The Chipmunk Tribe:

“My shelter was knocked down when I got to the park. I cried, but Jasper and Krista and I rebuilt it again and made it more beautiful.” ~ Fiona

“My shelter is like a Native American’s house. Our house is coming along nicely. It’s kind of like a beaver’s dam. It has lots of vegetation and sticks.” ~ Japer

“The shelter is awesome! It was frustrating when the shelter fell down!” ~ Krista

Ashley Parker, a Washington Waldorf School alumna, has been performing and teaching Eurythmy in California since her graduation from The American Eurythmy School near Mt. Shasta in 2013. Ashley has also been studying Anthroposophical Speech Formation and Drama. She will be teaching Eurythmy for the Early Childhood and Grades classrooms this Fall. Later this year she will be moving to Dornach, Switzerland where she will complete her Speech training.

Eurythmy

by Victoria P. Mansuri

Waldorf Teacher, Educator, and Mentor

Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian-born artist, philosopher and educator, introduced eurythmy in 1912. It is most commonly known as the expression of sound through movement; but it is far more than this. Allow me to use a metaphorical picture to explain: although in physical geometry one can never truly experience a line or point because, for example, the chalk or pencil would always be too fat, one can still understand their pure forms, or archetypes. Similarly, the true natures of the spoken word and musical sound do not clearly manifest themselves in the physical world, but live more in the ethers (the space around us), or an etheric world, if you will. The art of Eurythmy is to align one’s physical body with these archetypes of sound in the etheric world. The sounds can be spoken or tonal; specific movements for each were developed by Rudolf Steiner. These two differentiations are called Speech Eurythmy and Tone Eurythmy, or “Visible Speech” and “Visible Music.”

Since these archetypes of sound live in the ethers, it is not the beauty of the eurythmist that is of primary concern; but rather, how the space around and between the eurythmists is shaped. As is described in a Eurythmy Spring Valley publication, “enlivening the space between performers calls for a dynamic balance between complete individual involvement and a listening in movement to others. Finding an approach to enhance individual expression while building a unified group ‘sounding’ in movement…” is the challenge of the artistic eurythmist. Thus, in the art of eurythmy, the dancer becomes both the listener and the instrument.

There are practical, pedagogical, and philosophical reasons for children to take Eurythmy in Waldorf schools. The word Eurythmy comes from the Greek “eu,” meaning good, and “ruthmos,” meaning rhythm. The intricate rhythms in speech and music are experienced through various forms of movement. This helps the children to develop a sense of coordination, grace, and beauty in their movements. Taking eurythmy for many years can be extremely helpful, for example, to the adolescent boy who has grudgingly executed eurythmical movements and now finds that his gangly limbs are beautifully coordinated on the basketball court.

Bringing the rhythms of speech and music into the physical body through Eurythmy also helps in the academic realm. A Waldorf high school student who has taken Eurythmy for many years may find that he or she can easily identify the different rhythms in poetry, readily recite Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter (and understand it!), or easily syncopate a trumpet piece in band.

The deepening of the sounds into the human being also helps with clear and beautiful pronunciation, of not just the mother tongue, but of all languages, for sound is universal. It also brings an intuitive wealth to the young poet who has the sounds and rhythms of the universe imprinted into his or her very being.

Science and mathematics are also aided and complemented by a student’s eurythmical experience. Through Pythagoras’ teachings we know that mathematics and music are intricately related. By taking the archetypes of intervals and their relationships into one’s soul, math and its complicated variations, patterns, arithmetic and geometric sequences, can be approached from a deeper, all-encompassing perspective. In the sciences, the beautiful and mystical forms of, for example, the spiral of the conch shell or the sunflower, the five-pointed star found in the rose and the apple, accompany speech or music as eurythmical movement. In this way the phenomenon of biology is not only intellectually examined, but also inwardly experienced.

There is much more that could be said about Eurythmy, its artistic aspects and pedagogical influences. There is also a curative aspect to Eurythmy, which is prescribed in conjunction with a knowledgeable doctor. In all forms of Eurythmy, be it artistic, pedagogical, or curative, an invisible organ is strengthened which intuitively “listens” into the supersensible.

This ability makes a person more sensitive to others and what is in the space, be it tension, compassion, depression, or joy, whatever is in the etheric world around him or her. In this way Eurythmy offers us the potential to become a more empathetic human race, linked with our fellow human beings, as citizens of the cosmos.